LAS VEGAS (Nov. 10) -- An emotional highlight of the Crowning of the King ceremony that closed the year for the JEGS ProMod Challenge Sunday night in Las Vegas was the presentation of the Steve Engel "Big Man, Big Heart" Award to longtime drag racer and Pro Mod proponent John Waldie.
The award was created by JEGS officials in the wake of Engel's untimely death due to medical complications brought on by his high-speed accident during qualifying for the U.S. Nationals. The Steve Engel "Big Man, Big Heart" Award is a perpetual honor that will be handed out annually to a member of the Pro Mod community that best exemplifies Engel's gregarious spirit and generous nature. The award was accompanied by a $10,000 cash prize that Waldie will present to Racer's For Christ in Engel's name.
"There's no doubt in my mind at all that if Steve were here he would have picked John to receive this award," said Tonya Engel, Steve Engel's wife who presented the trophy to Waldie at the ceremony with help from her sons Stevie and Michael.
A friend to everyone in the Pro Mod pits, Waldie is a governor of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and former chairman of the nominating committee. His own racing career spans more than four decades and includes action in most of the current classes contested in the sport.
"When our group got together to select the first winner of this very special award, John's name came up right away," Coughlin said. "The fact he was so close to Steve and the Engel family made our choice very easy. Then, when we called Tonya and asked her if she would help with the presentation of the trophy and she heard we were giving it to John, her reaction was so positive that I knew we had made the right choice.
"It is our hope and desire that the Steve Engel 'Big Man, Big Heart' Award is carried on forever. It's our way of remembering a great racer and a wonderful man. Steve was a big man with a big heart and his love for Pro Mod racing and the people involved was unsurpassed. The JEGS ProMod Challenge will always honor his memory."
Renowned artist Dan Dreisbach, owner of Naked Sculpture of Baltimore, Ohio, created the Engel trophy. A fabricator at Rahal-Letterman Racing, Dreisbach has created trophies and sculptures for a wide variety of clients over the years, including the JEGS ProMod Challenge. He utilizes steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, all hardwoods, carbon fiber, and titanium in his work.
